


it's you

by bousans



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Cheating, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Hidden Feelings, M/M, Pining, Realization, i'll add more as i write more - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:01:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9384068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bousans/pseuds/bousans
Summary: louis' boyfriend cheated on him, but he has harry.





	1. sorry

**Author's Note:**

> so this is loosely based on beyonce's "sorry". i really don't know how this will turn out, or if anyone will even read, but we'll see! thank you.

**Wednesday @ 9:45 pm**

“Alright lads, I say that we call it a night yeah? I gotta get up to work tomorrow, and this hangover is gonna be a bitch as it is.”

Louis grinned at Niall and continued to sip his drink. He could feel a buzz thrumming through his body and he knew that Niall was right, the hangover tomorrow was going to be shit. But it was worth it. He had Harry’s arm around him and his best mates were sitting around him, drinking away their problems, or he was drinking his problems away. But he was going to be fine, dammit. They were all going to be peachy.  Even if his boyfriend hadn’t bothered to fucking respond to his texts all night, he was going to be fine. He wasn’t even thinking about it, hadn’t even checked his phone once. Louis Tomlinson may be many things, but he was not needy.

Liam raised his beer in the air. “Alright this is the last toast then.”

They all followed suit. Zayn raised his beer up next to Liam’s and Niall did the same. Louis and Harry, though, raised up their cocktails. Liam had made fun of their choice of drinks, but he could fuck off. A man’s choice in drinks didn’t determine his worth. Louis liked the fruity taste in his mouth, especially because he always underestimated them, and ended up absolutely smashed everytime.

This time however, it had taken him significantly more cocktails to get his buzz going. But once again, he was not going to think about the reason behind that. Instead he grinned at his boys.

“This was a good night lads. I say we do it again tomorrow!”

Zayn put his beer down on the table and laughed. “I love you guys, I really do. But I do not love you enough to endure another hangover that quickly.” He winked at Louis. “But if you play your cards right, I will definitely do this again next Friday.”

Niall cackled and patted Zayn on the back.

“You can’t resist the Tommo, Zayn. Not with his long eyelashes and high cheekbones. You’ll be back tomorrow if he decides to come back.”

Louis grinned at Niall and pointed his drink in his direction. “You my friend, have learned correctly.” He spread his arms out. “I own you guys. You lads are at my beck and call. I say jump and you respond with ‘How high?’ ”

Niall gave off another cackle while Liam and Zayn rolled their eyes at him, in a fond manner. Louis knew that he was a little shit, but the guys knew it as well and they knew to go along with his antics.

“I think that we should change that though. We need a new head of monarchy around here. I’m tired of your lazy arse.” Liam pointed at Zayn. “I say that we elect Zayn as our new leader yeah? His mysteriousness and god-like features make him our next best option.”

Louis snorted. “You only want Zayn, because he’s the one that sucks you off.”

Zayn winked at Louis. “And I’m damn good at it.”

Louis pretended to gag while Niall laughed.

Harry lifted his head from where he had laid it down on Louis’ shoulder and pouted at them.

“I don’t want anyone else to be our leader. Louis should be the leader because he’s the prettiest and looks like a fairy prince.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “No one is going to dethrone Louis, Harry. Don’t worry about it. Louis will always be our leader.”

Louis turned his head to look at Harry and gave him a grin. “Yeah babe. You can’t get rid of the Tommo. I’m always going to be around to keep your arses in check.”

Harry beamed at him and planted a kiss on his cheek, before nuzzling into his neck. Louis tried to suppress the shiver that ran down his body, but it was futile.

Niall laughed. “You mean, we’re gonna keep your arse in check.”

Louis scoffed and pointed his finger at Niall. “You know what Horan? You can bloody sod off. I thought that you were leaving anyways.” He raised his eyebrow. “Hmm?”

He watched as Niall stood up from his end of the booth, idly scratching his stomach.

“You’re right. I really got to go, so I’m off.” He turned to look at the rest of them. “Is anyone else leaving or am I the only one?”

Both Zayn and Liam got up and started putting their jackets on.

“No we’re coming too mate, Zayn has a big test tomorrow and I have to wake up early for practice. We can catch a cab together and split the fair.”

Niall nodded his head and smiled, turning to look at Louis and Harry.

Louis shook his head and waved him off. “My flat is only ten minutes from here lads, I’ll be walking home.”

He patted Harry on the cheek, and Harry lifted his head from where he still had it resting on Louis’ neck. “What about you babe? Are you gonna catch a cab with them?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t wanna leave yet Lou. I’m having too much fun.”

Louis gave him a fond smile and tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. He turned towards the other boys. “You all go on ahead. I’ll take care of him. I’ll let him finish his cocktail and then I’ll take him home with me.”

Liam lifted his eyebrow. He looked unsure. “You sure Lou? Carter won’t mind?”

Louis scoffed and took a drink from his cocktail. Suddenly he wasn’t feeling so buzzing anymore. Dammit, leave it to Liam to get him sober. “Carter’s not home and he probably won’t be back until tomorrow.” He waved them off. “It’s fine lads. Go on and catch that cab.”

Zayn and Liam exchanged a look and Louis rolled his eyes. He really didn’t need them to behave like a an old married couple, worrying about him.

Zayn looked at him closely. “Is everything okay between you guys? You know we’re here for you yeah?”

Louis closed his eyes and nodded. He felt more sober than he would’ve liked to, to be having this conversation. He pushed his cocktail away from him, no longer liking the taste. “We’re good Z. Stop worrying about me and go get that cab. Good luck on your test tomorrow!”

He gave him a huge grin, and he knew that Zayn could see through his facade. The good thing was that Niall was starting to get anxious and Liam pulled Zayn towards the exit. They looked at him with worry but they waved their goodbyes.

Soon enough Louis was watching Niall’s blonde hair disappearing through the exit. He could hear him telling Zayn and Liam that they better not make out in the cab, or he would jump out. Liam responded by telling him that he wouldn’t be paying for any hospital fees and to make sure that he jumped when the cab was slowing down. Louis grinned and shook his head.

He didn’t feel Harry moving from where he was still nuzzling against his neck and he wondered if he had ended up falling asleep. He also couldn’t help the shivers that went through his body when Harry exhaled. But c’mon. He was still a man with a healthy libido and he had a pretty boy nuzzling his neck. Sure the boy was his best friend and Louis had a boyfriend, but he was human and his boyfriend was ignoring him, so he wasn’t beating himself up to much about it.

“Haz? C’mon babe. Finish up your drink so that we can go home. I know that you have classes tomorrow.”

Harry lifted his head from Louis’ neck and gave him a sleepy smile. “Okay, but only because you asked so nicely.”

Louis rolled his eyes, but he knew that it was fondness that was radiating off of him.

“I’m so glad that you came out with us tonight Lou. I’ve missed you.” Harry hiccuped. “You hardly have time for us and I just really missed you.”

Louis winced at what Harry was saying. He knew that he had ignored his friends for awhile and he felt guilty. He was never good at balancing things though, and there was too much that he had to do. “I know babe. I’m sorry. I’ve just had a busy time, what with Carter moving in with me and everything.”

At the mention of Carter, Louis saw Harry roll his eyes, before he took a big gulp from his drink. Harry put the glass back on the table with more force than was necessary.

“Careful babe, you might end up breaking the glass.”

Harry sighed but looked towards Louis, a pout on his face.

“I don’t like Carter, Lou. He doesn’t treat you the way that you deserve to be treated.”

Louis sighed. It wasn’t a big secret that his friends didn’t like his boyfriend, but while the other’s tried to at least act cordial towards him, Harry made it known that he couldn’t stand the guy. They had opposite personalities and had clashed from the beginning. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum and sometimes it was really fucking frustrating that Louis couldn’t talk about them to each other, but he learned to live with it. He loved his friends, he absolutely loved Harry, but he also loved his boyfriend and both parties were just going to have to deal with it.

He reached out and ran his hand through Harry’s hair, knowing that he loved that. He began to scratch his scalp and it only took a second for Harry to lean into his touch.

“I know that you don’t like him babe. But I do, and I would really love it if you could accept that.”

Harry sighed and moved away from Louis’ touch. Then he quickly turned and planted a kiss on Louis’ cheek.

“Yeah. Of course I can do that Lou. Anything for you.”

Louis grinned. “Thanks babe. Now c’mon, get up. It’s getting late and we’ve gotta walk to my flat.”

Harry stood up from the booth and stretched. A sliver of skin was exposed and Louis tried to advert his gaze somewhere else. But like he mentioned before, he was a man and Harry’s laurel tattoos were one of his favorite tattoos. He shook his head and followed after him, standing up from the booth as well. He fixed his shirt, and looked up to see Harry stumbling. He quickly placed a hand on Harry’s hip to steady him.

“Careful love. Don’t want you to trip and fall. Then where am I gonna find another Haz?”

Harry giggled and leaned into Louis’ side. Louis grinned up at him and reached into his pocket for his phone. Maybe he just hadn’t felt it vibrating. But when he took it out, there was nothing on his lockscreen. He sighed and tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. Carter could fuck off. It didn’t take more than 7.5 seconds to send a text letting him know that he wouldn’t be home. Not that Louis had calculated it or anything, because he hadn’t. Whatever. He’d deal with it tomorrow.

He gripped Harry’s waist and Harry put his arm around his shoulder. On the way to the exit, various people tried to hit on Harry and Louis frowned at them. The good thing was that Harry was so drunk that he didn’t pay them any attention. Instead, he grabbed Louis’ hand and intertwined their fingers, giving him a squeeze. Louis couldn’t help the grin that spread on his face. Carter didn’t like how touchy he was with Harry but they had always been like that since they had met each other in secondary school. It made Carter uncomfortable though, and he tried to tone it down when he came out to hang out with them. It wasn’t often though, and most of the time the atmosphere was tense. But he wasn’t going to think about Carter. If Carter could ignore him the whole night, then Louis could go on without thinking about him.

They stepped out of the pub and Louis inhaled the fresh air. It immediately helped clear his head and he felt better. Harry on the other hand, was still tipsy and grinning at him with glazed eyes.

“I love you Lou. So much. You don’t know how much. But I do.”

Louis grinned. “I love you too, H. A lot you bloody idiot.”

Harry pouted and glared at Louis, removing his hand from Louis’ and pointing his finger at him. “No you don’t. You love Carter. ‘N it’s not nice to lie Lou.”

Louis furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t know what Harry was trying to get at. “What do you mean H? I’m not lying. I can love both you and Carter. I can even love Zayn, Liam, and Niall too.” He tried to get closer to Harry, worried that he would end up stepping off the curb. But Harry took a step back from him and ran his hands through his hair. 

“No. No, you don’t get it Lou.”

Louis was bloody confused but his main concern was keeping Harry on the sidewalk. He stepped closer to him and grabbed him by his forearms.

“Then tell me H? I’ll listen to you babe, just step away from the curb.”

Harry released his hair and dropped his hands to his sides. “No it’s fine Lou. Forget it. Sorry, the alcohol is getting to my head.” He smiled at Louis.

Louis could tell that the smile was forced, but he decided to let it drop. He was just glad that Harry wasn’t next to the curb any longer. The people in London didn’t know about bloody speed limits and they drove down the streets like lunatics, and he really didn’t want to see his best friend getting hit.

He put his arm around Harry’s waist and squeezed him close to his side. It took Harry a moment to react, but soon he put his arm around Louis’ shoulder and pressed a kiss to his temple.

Louis wanted to clear up the tension in the air so he bumped his hip against Harry’s.

“So Harry. Those dance moves that you did earlier were pretty sexy yeah?” He looked up at Harry and wiggled his eyebrows. “Where’d you learn to dance like that hmm? I think Niall was proper turned on if you ask me. He was redder than usual and you know that’s kinda impossible mate.”

Harry snorted and covered his mouth with his free hand, trying to stifle his giggles.

“I started taking that dance class that I told you about. You remember yeah?”

Louis nodded his head in confirmation and watched Harry shrug.

“And I guess I’m not as bad at dancing as I had originally thought.” He shyly looked down at Louis. “Did you really like them though?”

Louis grinned up at him. “Oh yeah babe, had to keep myself from ravaging you on the dancefloor. Li practically had to hold me back.” He winked at him. “All of the boys wanted to take you home, but too bad. I’m the only one taking you home. You’re all mine.”

He didn’t stop to think about the fact that his stomach dropped at the thought of anyone taking Harry home with them. He blamed it on the alcohol. Honestly, he didn’t know what was going on with him today. First he was liking Harry breathing all over his neck, and then he was looking at his stomach, and Louis should just win an award for the creepiest best friend.

He looked up to see Harry’s smile drop for a second, but it was back in a flash and Louis wondered if he had imagined the sad look on Harry’s face. Maybe he had drunk too much this time.

“Of course Lou. I’m always going to be yours.”

Louis grinned up at him and they continued the rest of the walk home in silence. Occasionally they would bump their hips against each other’s and they couldn’t wipe the grins off of their faces. Louis had definitely had a great time, even though Carter hadn’t responded. Louis definitely was going to hangout out with his mates more often.

When they reached his complex, Louis tried to take out his keys from his back pocket but Harry wasn’t letting him move. He had Louis’ hand intertwined with his again, and it was making things difficult for Louis.

“Babe you gotta let me go, if you want me to get the keys so we can get inside.”

Harry grinned at him and let go of his hand, only to pull Louis into a hug. “I don’t wanna Lou. I wanna hug you for the rest of my life.”

Louis laughed. “Alright babe. I guess we’re just going to have to stand out here all night, unless you wanna get the keys for me.”

Harry grinned and slowly started sliding his hands down Louis’ back. Louis tried not to shiver from the feeling of Harry’s hands running down his back. Obviously he had been a shit person in a past life, because God was really testing him. He was especially testing him once Harry reached his bum and he stuck his hand in his pocket looking for the keys. Never once, did he break eye contact with Louis. His eyes were filled with mischief and Louis found it a bit hard to breathe.

After several excruciating, long moments, Harry finally found the keys. He gave Louis’ bum a squeeze and brought the keys up to Louis’ face.

“Are these the keys that you were looking for?” Harry smirked.

Louis shook his head to clear his head and cleared his throat. You know what, God was really trying to take the piss out of him, and that wasn’t very nice, now was it?  He was going to have to have a long conversation with him, as soon as he decided to become religious again, because he just couldn’t stand for this injustice.

He reached out for the keys that Harry was dangling in his face. “Yeah, yeah they are. Thanks H. Now we can, um, go inside.”

Harry giggled and Louis pushed open the door of his complex. He waited for Harry to step through and followed after him. He looked up at the stairs and was glad that his flat was on the second floor, because he was suddenly feeling very exhausted and he just wanted to crawl into bed.

He held his hand out for Harry to hold on to. “C’mon babe. We gotta be quiet. Don’t wanna wake up these lovely people.”

Harry grinned at him and grabbed his hand.

They started their way up the stairs but Harry couldn’t find his footing and was constantly bumping into the walls. They both struggled to stifle their giggles.

“Honestly, you’re worse than a newborn doe babe.”

Apparently, that was the funniest joke that Harry had ever heard because he cackled. Louis immediately rushed to put his hand over Harry’s mouth before he could end up making more noise. That was the wrong thing to do though, because Harry licked his palm.

Louis scrunched up his nose. “That’s bloody gross mate. Now I have your cooties all over my palm. ‘M infected now. Hope you’re happy.”

Harry simply grinned at him and Louis fondly rolled his eyes before wiping his hand on his trousers and continued walking up the stairs.

They managed to reach the door to his flat without anymore incidents, and Louis placed the key into the lock and opened the door. He stepped aside and let Harry go in front of him. He could already feel his bed underneath him and he sighed in content. He would just make them a cuppa and then they could go to sleep. The good thing was that he would have Harry to cuddle him, and he wouldn’t have room to let his mind think about Carter and what he could be doing.

After Harry was inside, Louis tried to step into the flat, but Harry was looking at him with a wide eyes, all of the color had been drained from his face.

Louis tilted his head. “Harry? Are you okay mate? You look like you’ve bloody seen a ghost or summat.”

Harry shook his head and tried to push Louis back out the door. Louis stumbled and almost fell, but Harry stuck his hand out and placed it on his shoulder, steadying him.

Louis frowned up at Harry and straightened his jacket. He was starting to get frustrated. “Hey what’s your problem? Lemme in, I just want to have a cuppa and get to bed Haz.”

Harry was vehemently shaking his head. “You don’t understand Lou. I can’t go in there.”

Louis scoffed. “What do you mean you can’t go in there. Don’t be daft Harry. Just let me in.”

Harry spread himself against the door. “No Louis. We’re not going in there.”

Louis threw his hands up in exasperation. “What the bloody fuck H? Why the fuck can’t I go into my flat?” He pushed against Harry’s chest trying to get him to budge.

Harry wrapped his arms around Louis and turned him away from the door, keeping him in the hallway. “Lou. Please just stay here.”

Louis was bloody pissed off now. Why the fuck couldn’t he go inside? For fucks sake. There wasn’t anyone in there! Why couldn’t Harry just let him in, it was _his_ flat. He never thought he would feel the need to punch his best mate in the face, but he was dangerously close to doing so. He was semi-drunk and tired and he just wanted to take off his clothes and go to sleep. He wasn’t asking for much, honestly.

“Listen mate. Lemme go or I’m going to punch you and then we’re both going to regret it.”

Harry shook his head, but sighed in defeat. He looked down at Louis with a sad expression and let him go. “Don’t say that I didn’t try to keep your heart from getting broken Lou.”

Louis pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “Whatever Haz. Let’s just go inside okay? We’ll forget about this and just sleep.”

He turned to step into his flat, but Harry remained rooted to his spot. He was looking down and his lip had turned white from how hard he was biting it. Louis’ frustration turned to uneasiness. He refused to stay out in the hall any longer though, and he went into his flat. He looked around quickly expecting a guy to pop out with a gun at any second. Everything was quiet though and nothing looked out of place. He took off his jacket and placed it on the couch. Harry was still outside in the hallway and Louis wasn’t about to go and get him. He could stay out there, as long as he needed, Louis was going to make a cuppa.

He started walking towards the kitchen, when he heard it. His stomach dropped and any buzz that he might’ve had left, was gone. He was definitely sober. He tried to think rationally and placed it on the fact that it could be his neighbors. Though, the last time he checked, there weren’t any women on this floor. He shook his head and tried to listen for anymore noises. Sure enough, he heard it again and his blood ran cold.

He stepped back into the living room and found Harry standing there, his lip still wedged between his teeth. Now he understood why Harry hadn’t wanted him to come into the flat. But you know, Louis had always been a stubborn piece of shit and he just couldn’t take a hint could he? If he had listened to Harry, he wouldn’t be hearing a female moan coming from his bedroom. No, he could still be outside in the hallway, in blissful ignorance.

Harry reached his hand out towards him. “Lou. I’m-”

Louis closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t H.” He sighed and brought his hand up to his forehead. “Just don’t right now please.” He pointed towards his bedroom. “I just want them gone.”

He was expecting himself to be fucking angry once he realized exactly what was going on, but instead he felt numb. He didn’t feel a fucking thing and he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not. All he knew was that he wanted to go into his bedroom and confirm what he was hearing. He wanted to see it with his own eyes, so he could know what a fucking fool he had been this whole time.

He turned on his heel and started walking to his bedroom door. Carter must have been having the time of his life for him not to hear him and Harry inside the flat. Oh what a fucking idiot he was. No fucking wonder he didn’t have time to respond to Louis! He was too fucking busy fucking other people.

Louis reached his bedroom door and he stopped to take a deep breath before he opened the door. His hand was shaking and he felt like he had a boulder in his stomach, but he was not going to let Carter see him affected. He masked his face and opened the door.

He knew that he should have expected it, but the scene in front of him still made his knees shake. Carter was laying down on the bed while the girl was riding him. Bile rose up in his mouth and Louis tried his best not to gag. He was going to remain unaffected even if he was dying inside.

And maybe Louis was a sick bastard, but he stood there watching and then he laughed. It was an empty laugh, hollow. But it was either him laughing, or him crying and he would rather die before letting them see him crying. He still had his dignity left.

At Louis’ laugh, Carter snapped his head up from the bed and pushed the girl of of him. He scrambled to cover himself up with the bed sheets. Louis always wondered why people did that when they were caught cheating. Obviously he had seen him naked before and the girl was just riding his dick, so why cover himself? And honestly why was he having these thoughts? He needed to get a grip.

“Louis baby, what are you doing here?” Carter wrapped the bed sheets tighter around his waist. “I promise it’s not what it looks like.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Why does everyone always make that fucking excuse? Obviously it’s going to be what it bloody fucking looks like.” He blew out air from his lips. “Just fucking go. Leave.”

Carter wasn’t moving, he just stood there.

“If you have any dignity left, you would leave Carter.” He smirked. “And seeing as how you don’t have any, I would leave.”

The girl had finally picked herself up from the floor and was desperately running around the room trying to pick up her clothes. Louis merely gave her a glance and turned to look back at Carter. He thought that he would be pissed at the girl, but he wasn’t. He was pissed at Carter. Because Carter was the one in a _relationship_ , which meant that he had been the one to promise to be faithful. For all he knew the girl was single and she wasn’t committed to anyone. He wasn’t going to be like everyone else and immediately blame the girl because it took two to fucking cheat, and yeah she was at fault but she didn’t mean shit to him, Carter was his fucking boyfriend.

“Louis let me explain.”

Louis laughed and crossed his arms. “You’re a piece of shit Carter, get the fuck out of my flat.”

And no one needed to know that Louis was shaking. That all he wanted to do was crawl into his bed and sleep for an entire week. He had no idea how his night had turned out like this.

“You have five minutes to get out before I call someone to get you out.”

He walked out of his bedroom and let out a long breath. He looked up to see Harry still standing where he had left him before and just the sight of Harry calmed him. Because his boyfriend may have cheated on him, but he would always have his best friend. He wanted nothing more than to have Harry hug him right now, but if he did that than he would cry and that could not happen. Therefore, he tried to appear as nonchalant as possible and walked into the kitchen to turn on the kettle for tea.

He preoccupied his mind, making tea and not thinking about the situation. He made himself a cuppa with no sugar and one for Harry with a splash of milk. He picked up the cups and walked into the living room to give Harry his.

Harry looked up at him when he walked into the living room and started to open up his mouth, but Louis quickly shook his head. Harry got the hint and grabbed the cup that Louis had for him and they both sat down on the couch. Louis was slowly sipping his tea. He could still hear Carter in the room and the tea left behind a bitter taste in his mouth.

Soon enough, the girl dashed out of the room and left through the front door.

“Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!”

Harry looked up at Louis’ statement and Louis smirked at him. It was easier for him to deal with the situation if he was being a sarcastic shit. He let his sarcasm wrap around him like an armor. Louis was just made up of so many different emotions today.  

Next, Carter walked out of the bathroom and scowled when he saw him sitting next to Harry. He pointed at Harry.

“What the fuck is he doing here? Was he going to spend the night? Is that what was going to fucking happen?”

Louis looked up at Carter and smirked at him but his eyes were empty. “You don’t get to ask questions anymore babe. Not since I walked in on you fucking another girl.” He sipped his tea. “No wonder you couldn’t respond to my texts you were too busy. However, it seemed like your hands weren’t busy so you could still have texted me one of your many fucking excuses.”

Carter stood in front of them, not moving.

Louis looked down at his wrist, and pretended to look at a watch. “Now if you could please hurry up and get your cheating ass out of my house. I would bloody appreciate it mate. Harry here has classes tomorrow and I really want him to get as much sleep as possible.” He looked up Carter and made a waving motion. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”

“Lou. Let’s talk about this please.”

Harry had been quiet the whole time, but he stood up beside Louis. And Louis had never seen Harry’s eyes look so dark, he looked murderous.

“He told you to fucking leave. So leave.”

Carter stepped up to Harry’s chest and looked up at him. Louis could see the smirk on Harry’s face at the fact that Carter had to look up at him.

“You don’t tell me what the fuck to do. You don’t mean shit to me.”

Harry laughed. “The feeling is mutual believe me. I don’t give a shit about you. We only bothered with you because Lou loved you, but now you can fuck off.”

Carter started to push Harry’s chest but Louis took that moment to stand up and stood between them, placing his hand on Harry’s chest.

“He’s not worth it Harry.” He turned to look at Carter. “Leave. I’m not going to tell you again. I have nothing to speak to you about.”

Carter looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind and started walking towards the door. Once he reached it, he looked back and looked at Louis.

“This isn’t the end, Lou. We need to talk.”

Harry flipped him off and Louis just sighed. All that bravado that he had shown was gone and now he felt tired and vulnerable. He knew he would start crying at any second.

After a few more seconds, they heard the door shut and Louis slumped down on Harry’s chest.

“Lou?” Harry wrapped his arms around Louis’ shoulders and placed his cheek on his head. He slowly started rubbing circles on Louis’ back. “How are you baby? Talk to me.”

Louis started shaking and his eyes started welling up. He gripped onto Harry’s shirt and started sobbing. His sobs were so hard they wracked his chest and Harry sat down on the couch and pulled him on his lap. Louis layed his head down on Harry’s neck, his legs on either side of Harry’s. Harry wrapped one arm around his waist while the other one came up to run his hand through Louis’ hair.


	2. we don't eat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen, i'm a liar i know. i said this would be uploaded like two weeks ago, but yeah. this is a filler chapter, kinda?

**Wednesday @ 11:25 pm**

Harry didn’t know what to do. He had so many emotions going through him, the main one being anger, but he knew that wasn’t what Louis needed of him. So instead, he kept rubbing circles on Louis’ back and running his hand through his hair, and occasionally he would press a kiss to Louis’ head.

However, his back had begun to start hurting and an ache had started up in his temples. He couldn’t even begin to image how Louis felt with the events that had just occurred, and he didn’t really want to start thinking about it or else he’d get fired up and go after Connor. He took a deep breath and looked down at Louis. He hadn’t really made any noise or movement in the past twenty minutes, but he bet that the way in which his legs were bent, were causing them to start aching.

“Lou, baby. Let’s go to bed c’mon.”

Louis didn’t move, and Harry slowly started to pull him back so he could look him in the eyes.

“Baby?”

Louis lifted his head and stared at Harry. Harry thought that it was beautifully tragic how even though his heart had just been broken, Louis was still the most beautiful creature that Harry had ever seen. He quickly pushed those thoughts away, now wasn’t the time.

“Let’s go to bed yeah?”

And it was like someone turned a switch on because Louis quickly moved off of his lap and once he was standing up, he fixed his clothes, ran his hands through his hair, and pasted a smile on his face.

“‘Course, yes. My bad. Your back must hurt, yes.”

Harry’s heart ached. Even though Louis had a broken heart, he was acting as if it didn’t hurt him, and instead worrying about him. It was such a Louis thing to do, and Harry felt sad because he didn’t want Louis to keep things bottled up. He wanted Louis to talk to him, but he didn’t want to push him.

He got up and stretched. He was waiting for Louis to move, but Louis stayed still so Harry put his arm around his shoulder, and slowly started guiding him to the guest room.

Harry pushed open the door, and led Louis in, guiding him to the bed. He started to take Louis’ shirt off but Louis stopped him.

“You don’t have to help undress me Harry. I’m fine. I can dress myself.”

Harry knew that Louis wasn’t going to want to talk about the subject anytime soon, so he decided to joke around, so even though they weren’t talking about it, Harry could still distract him. So he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Oh I know that. I’m just always looking for the chance to touch you, you have a wonderful body.”

Louis didn’t react like Harry wanted him to, but he still called him “tosser” so Harry relaxed a little bit.  
They both undressed themselves, Harry finishing before Louis, since he went to find some joggers. He fixed the bed and got in. Louis came back in and turned off the light. The only light in the room came from the floor-to-ceiling window, the moon taking up most of it.

Louis’ back was facing Harry, and Harry was scared to move, scared to break the stillness in the room. He was anxious though, it felt like Louis was worlds away in his own thoughts, and Harry didn’t want him to get lost in them.

He slowly reached slid his hand across the bed, feeling how soft the sheets were. When he was centimeters from Louis’ back, he hesitated. A second passed and he touched Louis’ back with his pointer finger. Louis didn’t make any sign of protest, so he started to slowly run his finger up and down his spine. A sign that showed Louis that Harry was there and he wasn’t alone.

A minute passed, maybe three, until Louis turned around and faced Harry. Harry kind of wished he wouldn’t have.  
His eyes were blue so blue, the water in his eyes enhancing the color. Tears streamed down his face, sliding down his jaw, his cheeks blotchy, his lips formed a rueful smile.

“You guys were right Haz, he’s an asshole.”

He laughed but when he looked at Harry again, Harry could see the pain in his eyes, and his heart broke. He quickly reached over and brought Louis closer to him, hugging him, and kissing his head.

“Oh baby. Shh. Breathe.”

Harry didn’t know what to say, or what to do, so he just held on to Louis with all that he had, and started crying too.

When Harry woke up, his face felt tight with the tears that had dried up on his face, and his arm had fallen asleep from the weight of Louis’ head. We felt wetness on his chest, but he couldn’t tell if it was drool, or if it was tears.

He really needed to pee, so he slowly lifted up Louis’ head and slipped his arm out. He then lifted Louis’ arms from around his waist and laid them back down once he was up. Louis instinctively reached out for him, and when he couldn’t find him, he pouted and curled around himself. Harry’s heart clenched, but he was sure Louis wouldn’t appreciate him peeing in his bed, so he quickly looked for his phone and quietly speed walked to the bathroom.

Once he was done peeing and washing his hands, he washed his face to get rid of the tight feeling in his face, and he took out his phone. He ignored his notifications, unlocked his phone, and clicked on his messages app. He quickly composed a text to Zayn, Niall, and Liam.

**_Harry: things are fucking shit right now. carter fucking cheated on lou._ **

He didn’t expect them to respond to him, or even to look at the message, with it being 3:45 a.m., but he felt that they should know so they could come over as soon as they could.

He locked his phone and went back to bed.

Once in the room, he took a moment to admire Louis. The moonlight was accentuating his cheekbones, and they looked sharper than they normally did. His hair was feathered out across his forehead and his lips were parted. He looked peaceful as if nothing had happened.  
Harry let out a sigh and went to go lay down again. Louis shifted as Harry tried to arrange himself. Harry was happy that he didn't end up waking him. He threw an arm around Louis waist and tried to relax his muscles so that he could sleep. He knew that things would be shit once they woke up, so he wanted to enjoy this as much as possible.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys liked this!!! i still can't believe that it has almost 400 hits. :o) thank you!! i believe i will update sometime this weekend or next. AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HARRY!!!!!
> 
> DID Y'ALL SEE THAT, MY BOY LOUIS DID THAT, AFTER FOUR YEARS HE DID THAT.


	3. million reasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is definitely the final version lol. the upcoming chapters will definitely be longer from now on!

**Thursday @ 9:15 am**

Yawning, he stretched his arms and legs as far out as they would go. A small smile formed when he felt the satin rubbing along his legs, cool and soft. With his eyes still closed, he turned to the side and instinctively reached out. He frowned when he didn’t feel anyone, but smiled again when he realized that the sheets were still warm. He slowly opened his eyes, turning to lay on his back, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before idly scratching the bottom of his navel.

“Carter?”

He called his name two more times but didn’t get a response. When his forehead started wrinkling with worry, Harry walked into the room.  

It was like time slowed down and Louis could notice every single detail, down to its molecular structure, about Harry and the space around him. He noticed the small hole in Harry’s boxer, giving him a peek of the white skin next to his groin. His eyes moved up and he could notice the stubble that was starting to grow on Harry’s face, a gradient of blue and black; then he noticed the way his nose was twitching, something that happened when he was nervous. He looked up to Harry’s hair, purposely avoiding his eyes, and saw it in disarray, a tangle of curls that only happened when Harry ran his hands through it excessively. His eyes moved to the space around Harry and he swore that he could see time itself. He could see the air particles moving.

He let out the breath that he was holding in, and time snapped back to its normal speed.

He closed his eyes and turned on his side, bringing the blanket up to his neck.

Now he realized why he had smiled when he felt the satin on his legs; that should have been his first reminder of the situation. Louis didn’t have satin sheets on his bed because Carter didn’t like the static that they produced with his joggers, they used cotton ones instead.

At the reminder of Carter and their used-to-be bed, he scrunched up his eyes and covered himself with the sheets; he felt as if his chest was caving in. It had felt as it had been a nightmare. It was one of those events that happen, but that seem so unreal that they feel like a dream, or in his case, a nightmare. It was probably his subconscious trying to protect him.

Memories from last night flashed through his mind: Harry not wanting to walk in and trying to keep him from going in as well, the moaning, seeing the girl riding Carter, Carter apologizing, and Carter leaving. The things that stood out the most are the nonchalance in his behavior; which was the farthest from the truth, he felt like fucking dying, and Harry. He remembers Harry being there through it all.

Louis had never thought that this could happen to him, but then again who does? No one wakes up thinking ‘Oh, today my boyfriend is going to cheat on me, and I’ll witness it, aces.’ No, no one thinks like that. No one expects to have their significant other turn out to be a shitty human.

Louis felt like shit because he couldn’t believe that it was affecting him this much. He had prided himself when he used to tell Stan that if someone ever cheated on him, he’d say ‘Fuck you.’ and move on, that he wouldn’t let it tear him down, and fucking look at him now, under a blanket with his eyes closed. He hated himself.

He let out a sob, and not two seconds later, Harry was sitting down in front of him, crossing his legs before rubbing his shoulder.

He didn’t say2 a word and Louis appreciated it so much. He wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation without his mouth wobbling and his voice breaking. He knew Harry would never make fun of him but he already hated how weak he felt inside, he didn’t want it to show, and feel more like shit.

Louis enjoyed the feeling of comfort that came from Harry’s touch. He felt cold all over and Harry’s hand was the only source of warmness. It made Louis want to cry a little bit more.

He didn’t deserve Harry. His headache was probably killing him, and here he was taking care of Louis because he was a piece of shit that couldn’t let it go. He should have known that Carter was cheating, it was his fault if he didn’t catch on. It was probably also something about him that led Carter to cheat because your partner won’t cheat on you for no reason, there has to be something that led them to that option.

With these types of thoughts in mind, his sadness was starting to be replaced by self-loathing.

He felt Harry’s hand on his hand, un-balling it. He hadn’t even realized that he had balled it into a fist, but there are a lot of things that he hadn’t realized.

“I made you your favorite, chocolate chip pancakes.” Harry gave him a small smile, still rubbing his shoulder.

Louis’ heart clenched, from sadness and self-loathing, but mostly for love for his best friend.

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry.”

He watched as Harry’s forehead wrinkled.

“Lou, you need to eat. All you have in your stomach is alcohol and that’s not enough to sustain you. I promise we won’t talk about it unless you want to, but you need to eat.” He squeezed Louis’ shoulder. “If you don’t eat, your ass will deflate and you won’t be hot anymore.”

Louis scoffed.”Wow. It’s great to know that I’m only considered hot because of my ass. Comforting.”

Harry, didn’t realize it, but his comment made Louis go back to his mindset that perhaps Carter cheated on him, because of _him._ He knew Harry was joking, but it hit a nerve.

“Alright, alright let’s go.”

Harry beamed at him and Louis’ heart stopped for two seconds.

“Harry, you gotta get up so I can get up.” Harry didn’t move and Louis scoffed. “You’re the one that wanted me to go eat breakfast, but you won’t let me get up, that makes sense.”

Harry tilted his head and grinned. “I wanna carry you Lou.”

“What? No, of course not.” He shook his head vehemently. “No, I can walk properly thanks.”

Harry continued to grin and scooted closer to Louis.

“Lou, c’mon, please. That way you won’t have to get up, and I can kind of pamper you today?” Harry grimaced a bit at the end.

“Was that a question or a statement? Either way, no. I don’t need to be pampered. I’m fine. I can walk on me own two feet.”

Harry frowned. “I never said you weren’t okay, I just wanna pamper you. Everyone deserves to be pampered once in awhile.”

Louis rolled his eyes. He knew Harry better than he knew himself and he knew that Harry wanted to pamper him because of what had happened yesterday. He hated having people take care of him, made him feel like he was incompetent and the people were wasting his time on him. Yes, the situation hurt, but he would get over it, he didn’t need people to unnecessarily worry about him. There were people out there with worse problems, he’d be fine. All he needed was a day to fully destroy himself, he’d pick up the pieces, and then he would be fine.

Harry looked sad though, and he knew that all Harry wanted to do was help, it was in his nature. Therefore, he could sacrifice his pride and appease his best mate, who was trying so hard to make him feel better. It was the least that he could do.

“Oh alright then.” He stretched out his arms in front of him. “Go on, do what you must. Do whatever you want with my body.” He sighed. It was taking him an immense amount of control not to grin.

Harry smirked and raised his eyebrow. “Those are the words that I dream about every night. Every man’s dream. I’m lucky.”

Louis’ eyes closed for a moment, because before yesterday, he would’ve believed them, but now he wasn’t so sure. However, as it was becoming a custom, he pushed his feelings aside and wiggled his arse, not wanting Harry to catch his change of emotions.

“Well, hurry up now. My pancakes are probably getting cold.”

Harry grinned and ducked down to wrap his arms around Louis’ waist. He pretended to struggle and lowered Louis’ body back to the bed. “I think that beer belly is finally taking effect.” He pretended to wipe off the sweat from his brow.

Louis _knew_ he was playing, he did, but the comment hurt. He wanted to cover himself with the blanket, feeling oddly exposed.

“Well fuck off then, I’ll just stay here.”

He started to move, but Harry placed a hand on his belly, still grinning.

“Hey I’m playing babes. You’ve got an incredible body. Now c’mon up you go.”

In a swift move, he wrapped his arms around Louis’ waist and picked him up. Louis wrapped his legs and arms around Harry, and Harry scooted to the edge of the bed, his hands under Louis’ butt. He placed both feet on the ground and walked to the kitchen.

The way that Harry had so easily picked him up made him blush. He didn’t feel exposed anymore, or self-conscious. Leave it to Harry to dig up his insecurities and end squashing them.

Once in the kitchen, Harry placed him down on the counter. He stayed quiet as he watched Harry move around the kitchen.

After Harry had two plates topped with pancakes, he brought them over to the counter.

“I didn’t put strawberries like I usually do. I know that after a night of drinking you can’t really eat acidic foods.”

Louis gave him a small smile. “You know me so well, thank you H.”

Harry bumped his shoulder with his. “Of course!”

They ate in silence and Louis was starting to get antsy. He didn’t want the silence because it left room to think and if he thought, then he would get sad, and he didn’t want to get sad while Harry was here. He already felt bad enough about the show he had put on yesterday.

However, he also didn’t want to talk because he didn’t want to talk about the topic, and he knew Harry wouldn’t bring it up if he didn’t, but. But he knew that Harry would be waiting for him to bring up the topic after they had talked for a bit.

So he stayed quiet.

Then the bell rang.

HIs head perked up, and he looked over at Harry, whose shoulders were tensed.

“You don’t think it’s…”

He didn’t finish his question before Harry interrupted him.

“I fucking hope not. No.” He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Listen Lou, it’s Zayn, Liam, and Niall.”

Louis’ eyes popped. “What are they doing here?!” He shook his head. “They should be in class, unless,” his neck cracked with how fast he looked over at Harry, “unless, you told them. Please tell me you didn’t Harry.”

Harry didn’t look up but Louis saw the twitching in his nose and the blush in his neck, and that was all the confirmation that he needed.

“Lou, I’m sorry. They’re your friends and no matter how much you want to ignore this and pretend like you’re fine, we both know that it’s not the truth.” He ran his hands through his hair. “You need your friends and they deserve to know. They’re just here for support.” He pushed himself off the counter. “I’m going to go open the door now okay?”

Louis stayed quiet. He knew that they were trying to be nice, but he hated it. It was already bad enough that Harry was still here, and now to have all of them? It was just going to make him more aware of the situation, which made it harder to bury it. He needed to deal with this on his own, didn’t want to bring people into his mess. However, he didn’t want to be rude. Therefore, he was just going to answer their questions and continually reassure them that he was fine, or was going to be fine, and then hopefully they would leave and he could deal with it by himself. Zayn would take pity on him and make the others leave.

Zayn and him both had the same type of way of dealing with shit, by holing themselves up and dealing with it. It was something that the others didn’t really understand, but they respected it. It took them some time, a few snarky comments, but they got used to it. Hopefully they would get the hint now.

He heard Harry opening the door and a few hushed whispers. He rolled his eyes.

“I know you lot are talking about me, there’s no need to whisper.”

“Oi, you’re so full of yourself Tommo. We weren’t even talking about you mate, we were talking about Harry’s dancing last night. It was aces.”

When Louis thought about Harry’s dancing, it seemed like a lifetime away.

“Always a delight in the morning Horan.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys liked that :^) i will read over it later to fix any mistakes. thank you!


	4. all time low

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i'm a liar. :^( but at least it's updated! and it's not long, but things keep happening and i'd rather post small chapters more recently than long ones like every two weeks. but you guys lemme know, which do you prefer? also i think this fic will only be 25 chapters long!

**Thursday @ 11:56 am**

“Lou, you need to stop hiding your feelings, and stop pretending that you’re okay.”    

Louis gave out an exasperated laugh, his hands rubbing his knees. “How many times do I have to keep telling you guys that I’m perfectly fine, yeah?” He grinned and shook his head. “I mean yeah, I’ll probably cry a bit later in the shower, but I’ll be fine.”

Harry noticed how Louis’ eyes had a forced look to them when he had grinned and how his voice had proceeded to get softer as he finished his sentence.

Niall jumped up from the black leather couch that he was sitting on. “I call fucking bullshit mate! I’m sorry, but you just got fucking cheated on, you’re definitely not fine.” His face was getting redder as he spoke and his hands were curling into fists. “I say we find that fucking asshole and make him pay for what he did to you. He’s a right bastard, a piece of shit.”

Niall began to pace the living room, his hands in his hair.

Liam tried to reach out and calm him down.

“Niall, you’re not really helping right now. We can’t go after Carter, violence won’t solve this.”

Niall laughed. “The fuck it won’t! I’ll feel fucking better making that cunt feel any pain.”

Zayn sighed. “Li’s right Niall. All we need to focus on right now is Lou.”

While the banter happened, Harry had kept his eyes on Louis. When Niall had jumped up from his seat, Louis had given a little jump and proceeded to slouch. When Liam spoke, Louis’ eyes began to harden, and when Zayn spoke, his hands were in fists.

Harry kept watching as Louis stood up. The sun was catching his eyes, making them look green. He was still shirtless and wearing the joggers he had put on last night; they had some milk on them from when they were eating. He had wrinkles on the sides of his eyes, but they weren’t out of happiness. With his hands in fists, back straight, and harden eyes, Harry thought that he never had looked more fragile.

Harry sighed. He was hurt that Louis didn’t want to talk to them about what going on in his mind right now, or how he felt. However, it was his decision and he was going to respect it. He already felt bad about having told the boys because after he had opened the door and they had sat down in the living room, Louis hadn’t looked at him since. He knew, and the rest of the boys did too, that he shouldn’t take it personally because this was how Louis always coped and it was how he handled things in his life. It didn’t mean that Louis didn’t trust him. It just hurt because even after 19 years of having known each other, Louis still couldn’t tell him that he wasn’t okay.

“You guys have no right to talk about me as if I’m not here. I have said multiple times that I’m fine. Furthermore, nothing will be done to Carter. I am done talking about him and want nothing to do with him anymore. You guys won’t do anything to him, because I will not allow you to fall to his level. I would really appreciate it if you guys left now.”

Harry knew that Louis was responding this way because he was feeling trapped with all of the questions that the boys had been directing at him.

It seemed that the boys had gotten the hint because Zayn sighed and stood up.

“I know how you’re feeling right now because you cope the same way that I do, however, we need people to help us to sometimes Lou. This isn’t something that you can handle all by yourself. We’re here for you, when you need us, call us.” Zayn pulled Louis into a hug and rubbed his back, then he pulled back and turned to look at Liam who was still sitting down. “C’mon babes let’s go.”

Liam stood up and pulled Louis into a hug. “We love you and Carter is an asshole, We’ll be back later to check on you.”

After Liam stopped hugging Louis, Niall ran to him and embraced him. “I hated that bastard from the moment I saw him. He was never good enough for our Lou, you were beyond his league.” He pulled back from the hug and grinned at Louis. “If you change your mind just let me know, and I’ll kick his arse. I won’t even charge ya mate, it’ll be on the house.”

Louis gave him a sad smile. “I appreciate it thank you Ni.”

Harry had stayed quiet and he watched as Louis walked them to the door, continuing to reassure Liam that he was indeed fine.

Louis closed the door and Harry watched as he slumped against the door and wiped his eyes. He looked so fragile.

“Lou.”

“Don’t say anything Harry. I don’t want to talk anymore, I just wanna go and take a shower now.” He gave him a small smile.

Harry gave a nod and remained seated. Louis pushed himself off the door and walked to the guest bathroom.

He didn’t want to start thinking about how Louis said that he’d cry when he was in the shower, so he stood up and busied himself by starting to clean. If he let himself think about it, he’d rush into the bathroom and stay there to keep Louis from crying. Therefore, he started off in the kitchen, picking up the plates and utensils that they had used and moving them to the sink.

In the middle of him washing the dishes, a phone started ringing. It took him a moment to place the sound, but then he realized that it was the ringtone that Louis had designated for Carter. He started to feel anger rise up in him. He couldn’t believe the nerve of the guy to actually call Louis. The phone rang a few more times and then it went silent.

It was silent and so he could hear Louis crying, and he wanted nothing more than to go in there and hug him. Louis needed to release his emotions and cry it out though, he couldn’t hold it inside, and so he restrained himself.

He went to go get his phone from the guest room and see if he had any texts, his mom usually texted him. When he got his phone he saw that he had two unread texts: Zayn and his mom. He clicked on Zayn’s before clicking on his mom’s.

**_Zayn: pls keep us updated if anything happens, we’ll be back later. take care of him and just let him take things at his open pace, he’ll open up._ **

**_Harry: i will don’t worry and yeah i know but i wish he’d talk to me now._ **

After pressing send, he opened up the text from his mom.

**_Mum: Hi baby I hope you have a good day, I’ll be spending mines with Gem. Gimme a call later xx_ **

He didn’t respond because he’d end up telling her about the situation and he didn’t want to worry her. She loved Louis like one of her own and would want to talk to him, and he knew Louis didn’t want that right now.

He put the phone down and he went to go stand outside of the bathroom door. If it was just anybody listening, alp they would hear would be the water hitting the shower floor, but it was Harry who was listening and he could hear the small sobs from Louis.

_Fuck it._

He turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open. Steam covered the whole room and he felt as if he was stepping into a sauna. The mirror was fogged up and he could see a smiley face that had probably been drawn there previously, he smiled because it was typical of Louis to do something like that.

He looked over to the shower, and even though it was fogged up, he could see Louis curled up in the corners, sobbing and his heart gave a painful lurch.

“Oh Lou, fuck.”

Louis jumped up and quickly wiped his eyes, though he didn’t need to, if he blamed it on the water Harry would quickly accept it, wouldn’t question it.

“Jesus fuck Harry, you can’t just barge into the bathroom like that! You have to respect people’s privacy.”

If it wasn’t for the wobbly tone in Louis’ voice, Harry might have felt a bit of remorse, but he could hear it, and so he opened the shower door, and stepped inside. He didn’t give a shit if his boxer got wet, all he knew is that he wanted to comfort Louis if stepping into the shower and hugging was the way to do it, so be it.

“What are you-”

He grabbed Louis and put his arms around him, bringing him close to his body, and resting his cheek on the top of Louis’ head.

“Harry what the fuck? He tried to pull back from Harry’s grasp but it was weak.

“Shh. I’m trying to comfort you.”

Louis relaxed and hugged Harry back. “You’re so fucking weird. You’re just trying to look at my ass and dick.”

Harry gave a soft laugh. “Definitely, any chance that I can see two of the natural wonders of the world.” In turn he reach down to try and touch Louis’ bum.”

“Oi, hands above the waist, you haven’t even taken me on the second date.”

Harry laughed and he could feel Louis smiling against his chest. Neither of them mentioned that Louis’ voice had been wobbling the entire time, and that Harry was on the verge of crying as well.

“I’m sorry that this happened to you Lou, you didn’t deserve it, no one deserves it. Fuck, if I could’ve kept you from being hurt I would, I would do anything.

Louis moved his head and looked up at him. His eyes were glassy from the tears that he was holding back.

Harry looked at him and his heart clenched. He didn’t understand how someone could ever cheat on Louis or want to hurt him. There wasn’t a bad bone in his body, all he ever strived to do was work hard so that he could provide for himself and those he loved. He wanted to protect those around him and he stood up for what was right.

No one deserves to be cheated on. No one deserves to be made feel as if they weren’t enough.

He pulled Louis close again, and he could feel the tears hit running down his arm.

“You’re going to get through this baby. Maybe not today, maybe not next week, or even in a month, but you’ll get through it and we’re going to help you. We’ll be here every step of the way. You won’t be alone, you’re not alone.”

After they had been in the shower for five more minutes, they dried themselves and put on clean clothing. While Louis was still dressing, Harry had gone into the livingroom to find something that they both could watch, something that could distract Louis. He ended up choosing a film on t.v. it said that it was comedy, and comedy was good.

He went to go get a blanket from the storage closet and then sat down on the couch, the movie playing in the background, waiting for Louis.

He waited for five minutes, then ten.

_Where is he? It surely doesn’t take that long to find fluffy socks, unless he has them all in the dirty hamper, then it will take him a long time._

He got up to go find him. “Lou, where are you? Do you need help finding your socks?”

He didn’t find him in his room and his brows began to furrow. He proceed to walk into the guest bedroom and finally found him. He was looking down and saw that Louis had fluffy socks on his feet.

“Oh good, you found them. We wouldn’t want your feet to be cold.”

He began to look up and his shoulders slumped that Louis had tear tracks on his face, and was trying to wipe the tears away with his left hand, and had his phone in his right hand.

He scrunched his eyebrows and then it clicked. Carter had called earlier on, and Louis had probably seen the missed call.

He came up and wrapped his arm around Louis’ shoulder. “He’s an ass. I knew there was a reason I fucking hated him from the start.”

Louis stayed quiet for a moment and then he responded. “He left a voicemail. He said that he’s sorry, that he wasn’t really thinking, and that he loves me.” He started sobbing again and he hid his face in Harry’s armpit.

“Oh babes. He’s not worth it. C’mon, let’s go.”

He grabbed the phone from Louis’ grasp and he turned it off before putting it back on the bedside table. Then, he guided Louis back to the living room and fixed himself on the couch, before sitting Louis on his lap and covering them with the blanket. He put the volume back up and they just let it play in the background. The only noise that could be heard was the t.v and Louis’ occasional sniffling. Harry rubbed Louis’ back.

Back when Louis’ parents had split, Louis had come over to Harry’s house crying uncontrollably. He hadn’t known what to do and couldn’t ask his mother for help because she wasn’t home and neither was Gemma. Louis was sobbing so bad that he was beginning to hyperventilate and Harry had been scared that Louis was going to die. One of his mates had told them that he had heard from his cousin who heard from his friend’s aunt’s mom, that a person had ended up coughing their heart out when they were crying, and he knew that was going to happen if Louis kept crying. Harry had hugged him and tried to quiet him but it was to no avail. He had then sat Louis down on the couch while he went and found a blanket. He had brought it to the couch and sat Louis down on top of him, covering them with the blanket, and then he had begun to rub circles on Louis’ back. It had taken almost ten minutes, but then Louis had finally calmed down. Harry remembered that that was the most relieved he had ever felt. He hadn’t known what he would’ve done if Louis had coughed his heart out.

Thinking about that image made him shiver. He had kept Louis from coughing his heart out, but he hadn’t kept his heart from being broken, and he didn’t know which was worse. He tightened his hold on Louis and breathed him in. Louis was strong, he was going to help him get through it. He wasn’t going to allow Louis to believe that this happened because of him or something that he had done. No, Louis was the closest to perfection that one could get. Carter cheated because he was a piece of shit that didn’t have the balls to break up with Louis when he started to not have feelings for him. He always fucking hated him, from the moment that he had walked ahead of Louis and hadn’t waited for him, even though Louis had clearly been struggling with everything he had been holding. From that moment, he despised him. He despised him because he had the one person that Harry would die for. The person that made Harry’s day brighter everyday and who Harry would do any conceivable thing for. The person that Harry had been in love with for the past 7 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! 
> 
> so i accidentally charged $522 on my mom's card, so i may or may not die, and so there may or may not be a new chapter. 
> 
> AND THE FACT ITS ALMOST AT 1200 HITS IS UNBELIEVABLE


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